Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process and machine for manufacturing a hollow article made of thin glass, for example a bottle or any other article of that type.
The invention also relates to a hollow glass article obtained using this process.
Description of the Related Art
In general, the manufacture of hollow glass articles, for example bottles, must meet various constraints, in particular shape constraints, for example the position of the neck, manufacturing tooling constraints, for example for stripping, constraints related to distribution of the glass and the weight of the glass, and specific packaging-related constraints.
One known method for manufacturing this type of article consists of introducing at least one parison of molten glass into a blank mold at a specific temperature and preforming the article from the parison in the blank mold by injecting a pressurized gas, in particular such as air, into the blank mold.
The blank of the article thus produced is transferred into a finishing mold and the article is definitively formed in a finishing mold by also injecting a pressurized gas.
To date, hollow glass articles, and more particularly bottles designed for perfumery and cosmetics, have been made with thick glass distributions, which is perceived as particularly aesthetically appealing and contributes to conveying an image of luxury. The perfume bottles of the prior art have walls with a thickness exceeding 3 mm. Yet the current trend is to produce hollow glass articles with practically invisible glass walls, in order to convey an image of lightness, refinement, elegance and apparent fragility.
To obtain this output on a hollow glass article that can be industrialized, several conditions must be met, namely:                very fine wall thicknesses,        the most regular possible glass distributions to avoid disrupting perception by the eye, and        a sufficient mechanical strength for handling of the article.        
With the aforementioned method, the adjustment of the blank mold and the geometry of the blank, excess glass may remain on the walls of said article.
This excess forms a curved overthickness inside the article that specialists refer to as a “marloquette” or “policeman's hat”. This overthickness disrupts the regularity of the glass distribution.
Furthermore, in light of the thinness of the walls of the article, the glass distribution constraints impose a much faster manufacturing rhythm than those currently used for articles with thicker walls. A gaseous interface forms between the blank and the walls of the finishing mold and is imprisoned during the blowing phase. This interface cannot be discharged due to a very short amount of time, thereby causing a deformation of the main faces of the article.
The invention aims to propose a process and a machine for manufacturing a thin hollow glass article that avoid these drawbacks.